The D&O Diary’s tour through the Asia Pacific region continued this week with a stop in the island city-state of Singapore, which is a bustling metropolis and a burgeoning insurance center. My stay in Singapore was all too short, but when I was not in meetings I did manage to see a little bit of the city.

My primary purpose in traveling to Singapore was to participate as a keynote speaker and panelist at the 2023 Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) Singapore Chapter Professional Liability Symposium. I have spoken at this event before so I know it to always be an interesting, well-attended, and well-organized event. The Singapore professional liability community turned out in force for this year’s event, which was just great for me as I was able to meet so many of the great professionals in the community. I would like to thank PLUS, the chapter leadership, and the conference committee for inviting me to be a part of this successful event again this year.

Here’s a crowd shot taken during my keynote address. There was quite a crowd for this event; the Singapore professional liability community was well-represented. I was also pleased to find that there are so many enthusiastic readers of The D&O Diary in Singapore.
In addition to delivering a keynote address, I also participated on a panel on the topic “Around the World in 60 Minutes: Hot Topics in D&O and the Professional Liability Insurance Market.” The panel, from left to right: Robin Cooper of Zurich Financial Services; James Cooper of Clyde & Co; me; and Ann Dang of Liberty Special Markets.
One of the reason’s that the Singapore Chapter has been such a success is that the Chapter has great local leadership, including an enthusiastic and capable event committee. Here is a shot with the committee taken immediately after the event, from left to right: Melanie Flatman of Marsh; Jessica Schappell of Beazley; Denise Choy, of Allied World; Andrew Robinson, of DAC Beachcroft; Pippa Austin of Kennedys; me; Priya Gobal of Clyde & Co; Robert Rhia of AXA XL; Arati Varma of QBE; Aaron Yip of Berkley; and Andrew Taylor of MSIG Insurance.

The reception after the event was quite a lot of fun, and it afforded me a chance to meet quite a number of the attendees. From left to right; Moying Chap of Blackpanda; Carmel Green of RPC Premier Law; and Chris Alderton of RPC.
At the reception, I met quite a number of insurance industry professional for the first time. Here is a picture with two of the people I met at the reception: Jennifer Gray of Honan Insurance Group; and Clara Han of Beazley.
I also had a chance at the reception to talk with others whom I had met on prior visits to Singapore, including several of the individuals in this group: Ernest Heng of WTW; Noelle Tan of WTW; Juliana Yong of WTW; and Priscilla Yong of QBE.
One of the great things about an event like the reception is that it is easy to meet and to talk to so many industry professionals. I enjoyed talking to this group at the end of the evening: Max Löw of Tokio Marine HCC; Lynn Leo of QBE; and Calvin Ng of Tokio Marine HCC.
The evening before the symposium, I was fortunate to be able to enjoy dinner as a guest at the home of my good friend, Arati Varma. It was a wonderful meal and it was great to get together with my special Singapore friends, from left to right: Ronak Shah of QBE (showing great selfie skills in taking the picture); Shasi Nair of Berkley: Arati; Jon Doherty; me; and Aruno Rajaratnam. My great thanks to Arati for hosting this every special gathering.
My stop in Singapore was all too brief. I only had a short time to look around while I was in town. I did have a walk around the harbor area and saw the famous Marina Bay Sands Casino, which featured so prominently in the final scene of the movie “Crazy Rich Asians.”
A view of the Singapore skyline taken from the bridge adjacent to the casino.
I was very pleased to discover that the Singapore Botanic Garden was only a short distance from the hotel where I was staying. I was even happier to discover that the gardens open at 5 am, so each day while I was in Singapore, I started the day with a brisk walk in the still darkened gardens.
There are so many great things about Singapore, but of all the great reasons to visit the city, the best is the food, which is absolutely amazing. Many readers may know that the city is famous for its hawker food markets. Here’s a picture of an amazing spicy chicken stir fry I enjoyed at the Maxwell hawker center in Singapore. I would have enjoyed even more time exploring the hawker food courts, but my stay in Singapore was all too brief. All too soon, my Asia Pacific schedule required me to move on to my next destination. But I have already started planning where I will go on my next visit to Singapore.